In surprise move, Grizzlies fire David Fizdale as head coach
Memphis has lost eight games in a row, six of them without Mike Conley at point guard. There was plenty of consternation in Memphis after it lost to Brooklyn at home Sunday, in a game where Marc Gasol was benched for the fourth quarter — Gasol did not like that at all — and coach David Fizdale was clearly searching for any combination that worked.

Still, it was a surprise Monday when the Grizzlies fired Fizdale, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Ronald Tillery
@CAGrizBeat
re: Fizdale. Source VERY close to Griz owner Robert Pera said Saturday that Fizdale was safe due to injuries. Was told management wanted to see how the team looked healthy. But things changed quickly - perhaps in 12 minutes.
7:06 PM - Nov 27, 2017
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Bickerstaff was 37-34 after taking over as the Houston coach during the 2015-16 season with the Rockets (taking over 11 games in). We’ll see if he keeps the job, but does anyone feel comfortable that current Grizzlies management will make the right decision moving forward?

Fizdale was 50-51 over two seasons in Memphis, but that belies a good coaching job where he had worked to get this team to pick up the tempo and play a more modern style. He got the Grizzlies to the postseason, where he famously had his “take that for data” rant.

The problem was, he was never given the roster to play a modern style, and the “grit ‘n grind” roster was old and not working well anymore. Then this season came the injuries — Conley is out, and then there is the injury to back up center Brandan Wright, forcing Marc Gasol had to play more minutes and take on much more of the offense. He struggled in that role, shooting 39.4 percent over this last 10 games. Add to that that Memphis is in the middle of its toughest stretch of the season and losses had to have been expected.

The problems in Memphis are not on Fizdale, but rather a team trying to hold on to a”grit ‘n grind” era rather than rebuild when it was time.

This was a thin roster that couldn’t afford injuries, yet it has had some key ones. This is a roster in need of shooting and more athletes, but strapped for money this summer they didn’t add them. The Grizzlies offense has struggled as a result and been bottom 10 all season — they get a lot of shots at the rim but only one NBA team takes a higher percentage of its shots from the midrange, and the Grizzlies still are not a good three-point shooting team (32.3 percent as a team, 29th in the league). Bottom line, they don’t have enough shooting. Or to put it another way, Fizdale doesn’t have the piece he needs.

Throw in the potential of an ownership change in Memphis (minority owners Steve Kaplan and Daniel Straus can buy out current owner Robert Pera) and this is a sticky situation.

At first blush, this looks like a “we are not trading Gasol or anyone, we want to win” move, but we shall see. And we’ll see if Bickerstaff can turn the tide for a shorthanded team. He might for a few games, but like Fizdale he doesn’t have the players to do it for long.

I’m not a fan of his firing but I figured he was not long for that world when I heard that he and Marc were having problems and then he sat Marc the other night and Marc was not shy about voicing his displeasure.

Joined: 23 Jun 2011Posts: 3004Location: Over the River And Through The Woods

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:18 pm Post subject:

No way Fiz should've been fired. Not his fault the front office ave max deals to two guys with chronic knee and achilles injuries in Parsons and Conley. And Marc complaining because he was benched didn't help. All Fiz did was stick with the guys that got him back in the game.

Last night, I caught a few minutes of Jason Whitlock discussing this. He was peddling the theory that NBA front offices are racist because they push analytics, which black coaches don't relate to. Seriously. He mentioned that Hollinger works in the Memphis front office (though he did not use his name).

Setting aside that drivel, I do have some concern that the sports leagues are regressing when it comes to minority coaches, and that teams seem quick to pull the trigger when things go bad for someone like Fizdale or Watson. The number of minority head coaches in the NBA is dwindling. I suspect that this affects some of the reactions to this firing.

Last night, I caught a few minutes of Jason Whitlock discussing this. He was peddling the theory that NBA front offices are racist because they push analytics, which black coaches don't relate to. Seriously. He mentioned that Hollinger works in the Memphis front office (though he did not use his name).

Setting aside that drivel, I do have some concern that the sports leagues are regressing when it comes to minority coaches, and that teams seem quick to pull the trigger when things go bad for someone like Fizdale or Watson. The number of minority head coaches in the NBA is dwindling. I suspect that this affects some of the reactions to this firing.

Not to get too far out inns tangent, but I've long had the theory that NBA teams tend to hire black coaches who fit into two stereotypes:

The "one of them" "player's coach" type, who often isn't an x and o guy but more of a rah rah motivator who is said to "get" the players.

The "police captain", the type of role you see a lot in movies, the taskmaster, "tough love" guy.

Its rare to see either an assistant or head coach who is black and who is known for being an x and o savant._________________Tolerance is an agreement to live in peace, not an agreement to be peaceful no matter the conduct of others. A peace treaty is not a suicide pact.

Last night, I caught a few minutes of Jason Whitlock discussing this. He was peddling the theory that NBA front offices are racist because they push analytics, which black coaches don't relate to. Seriously. He mentioned that Hollinger works in the Memphis front office (though he did not use his name).

Setting aside that drivel, I do have some concern that the sports leagues are regressing when it comes to minority coaches, and that teams seem quick to pull the trigger when things go bad for someone like Fizdale or Watson. The number of minority head coaches in the NBA is dwindling. I suspect that this affects some of the reactions to this firing.

24 — I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I think you’re on to something. Anyway, the real point of my post is that I get the sense that the abrupt firings of Watson and Fizdale have struck a raw nerve. Someone in the league office needs to get out in front of this issue, even if it is done behind the scenes.

Last night, I caught a few minutes of Jason Whitlock discussing this. He was peddling the theory that NBA front offices are racist because they push analytics, which black coaches don't relate to. Seriously. He mentioned that Hollinger works in the Memphis front office (though he did not use his name).

Setting aside that drivel, I do have some concern that the sports leagues are regressing when it comes to minority coaches, and that teams seem quick to pull the trigger when things go bad for someone like Fizdale or Watson. The number of minority head coaches in the NBA is dwindling. I suspect that this affects some of the reactions to this firing.

I've heard that line about analytics before and it is very offensive. Analytics has nothing to do with race and everyone is able to utilize it.

I also think there is a logical explanation why a disproportionately large number of NBA players are black but that same percentage doesn't apply to coaching, especially as more teams do not recognize NBA playing experience as a prerequisite to coaching.

Last night, I caught a few minutes of Jason Whitlock discussing this. He was peddling the theory that NBA front offices are racist because they push analytics, which black coaches don't relate to. Seriously. He mentioned that Hollinger works in the Memphis front office (though he did not use his name).

Setting aside that drivel, I do have some concern that the sports leagues are regressing when it comes to minority coaches, and that teams seem quick to pull the trigger when things go bad for someone like Fizdale or Watson. The number of minority head coaches in the NBA is dwindling. I suspect that this affects some of the reactions to this firing.

And Fizdale is biracial(black/white) go figure.

Right.

Treble Clef wrote:

I've heard that line about analytics before and it is very offensive. Analytics has nothing to do with race and everyone is able to utilize it.

I also think there is a logical explanation why a disproportionately large number of NBA players are black but that same percentage doesn't apply to coaching, especially as more teams do not recognize NBA playing experience as a prerequisite to coaching.